Stash Swatch Initiative: Sally Hansen Lava

Hello!

Today's swatch is Sally Hansen Lava.

Sally Hansen Lava. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Lava is a pretty glass-fleck, duochrome polish that shifts from orange to pink. It wants to shift to red, but doesn't quite get there. The final look is bright and metallic.

Sally Hansen Lava. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Base Coat, three coats of Lava, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. This polish is much sheerer than I expected, so I used three coats. It will bald and streak if you are not patient and start on another coat if the first isn't dry, but once applied, it's stunning.

Sally Hansen Lava. Indoors, natural light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle recently on clearance at either Wal-greens or Wal-mart... my memory fails me! Happy hunting!

Sally Hansen Lava. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Nfu-Oh 51

Hi!

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So, before they disappeared from the world, I did manage to snag a couple of now-discontinued Nfu-Oh flakies. This one is #51.

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

51 is a crazy polish! The vibrant purple jelly base is loaded with duochrome flakies and shimmer. I see predominantly copper/orange flakies that shift to yellow and then green.

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are over Sinful Colors Base Coat and are as follows: one coat of 51 over Cult Nails Nevermore on my pointer and pinkie fingers, one coat over Cult Nails Vicious on my middle finger, three coats alone on my thumb and ring fingers. Everything was topped with one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. I had no issues with application.

Nfu-Oh 51, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I like this over black the best. The duochrome effect is amazing!

Nfu-Oh 51. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle from FabulouStreet, which I was skeptical of at first because the website looked a bit dodgy, but I'm happy to report my two bottles were shipped to me freely and quickly! At the time I'm writing this, 51 is still in stock there! Hurry!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: CrowsToes Indian Summer

Hello!

Today I have CrowsToes Indian Summer!

CrowsToes Indian Summer. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Indian Summer is a mysterious color shifting polish. At extreme angles, it looks reddish-orange then shifts through magenta to deep purple. In most situations, I saw the purple. It's shimmery, mysterious, and pretty!

CrowsToes Indian Summer. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, three coats of Indian summer over all but my ring finger, which got two coats over Cult Nails Nevermore, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. This has a thin formula, that needed three coats for opacity, but was easy to apply.

CrowsToes Indian Summer. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased my bottle recently from Llarowe.

CrowsToes Indian Summer. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Essie On a Silver Platter

Hello!

Essie On a Silver Platter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is Essie's On A Silver Platter.

Essie On a Silver Platter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

On a Silver Platter is a crazy mix of shimmer and glitter. There are two sizes of cobalt blue, holographic hex glitters swimming in a heavy shimmer that shifts from silver to a greenish-gold. It is incredibly sparkly and totally awesome! My pictures don't tell the complete tale well because my camera refused to acknowledge the gold shift on the nail (but you can see it in the bottle!). :(

Essie On a Silver Platter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are one coat of On a Silver Platter plus one coat of Gelous and one of NYC In a New York Minute over Saturday's OPI This Gown Needs a Crown swatch. I didn't have any issues with application. I did try to layer this up on it's own, but it is surprisingly sheer at first. I think you could get to opacity in three coats, but it might end up getting a bit chunky and the snazzy blue glitters would get lost in the sea of shimmer.

Essie On a Silver Platter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I think this looks fabulous over the silver foil, and it keeps it true to in-bottle look. In person at this angle, the gold color shift was really noticeable, not that my camera cared... /grump.

Essie On a Silver Platter. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased this bottle just last weekend at CVS.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: HITS Air Glow

Hello!

I have another one of the four very-popular-a-few-months-ago duochrome glitters from the HITS Phenomena collection swatched for you today. This is Air Glow.

HITS Air Glow. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Air Glow is simply small, hex glitters suspended in a clear base. What's special about these is that they shift from a yellow-green through orange to red depending on the angle. It's an awesome effect.

HITS Air Glow. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I chose to show this over yesterday's Color Club Winter Affair swatch. I added one coat of Seche Vite after one, swiped on coat of Air Glow. The next picture also has one coat of Butter London's Matte topcoat. Formula is good -- one swiped on coat was enough glitter coverage for me. And I am loving this combination -- it's very fall!

HITS Air Glow. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased this polish from Llarowe. As of time of posting, Air Glow was sold out, however, the other three from the collection are available. Leah Ann is very good about updating restock information via their Facebook page, if you're after this one, I'd keep an eye out there.

HITS Air Glow. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Polished by KPT Nightcrawler

Hello! Happy Halloween!!

Polished by KPT Nightcrawler. Cold. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today I have a new-to-me brand. This is Polished by KPT's Nightcrawler!

Polished by KPT Nightcrawler. Cold. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I saw swatches of this collection over at MakeupWithdrawal about a week or so ago, and I was smitten! I immediately followed her link and purchased this polish. A completely impulsive polish buy! This is my first thermal polish, and I'm super excited to wear it. It's a reason to keep my nails long like this!

Polished by KPT Nightcrawler. Warm with cold tips. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Anyway, Nightcrawler is a gorgeously complicated, color-changing polish packed with purple, pink, and blue shimmer. When warm, Nightcrawler is a soft, shimmery grey. When cold, it is a deep, mysterious purple/blue. The shimmer is predominantly purple, but you can see the other two colors flash a bit at different angles. It reminds me of what OPI Russian Navy looks like up close. It also has a duochrome effect from purple to blue. So. Awesome. I wore this for a full day, and it was interesting to see how often the color changed. The thermal effect is very sensitive. There were plenty of times when the polish was in transition and made the perfect gradient. I wasn't able to catch it on camera, but, seriously, my pictures just do not do this pretty justice.

Polished by KPT Nightcrawler. Cold. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote, two coats of Nightcrawler, and one coat of Seche Vite. The formula on this polish is a little weird -- it's thick but also almost sticky. I suppose that's what color-changing pigment does, but it didn't cause me any serious problems. I found application to be easy, but deceptive. The polish changed immediately for me when I brushed it on from the deep, dark blue to the light grey, so it was difficult to see where I had polished and where I needed a bit more. Once my hands got cold, it was easy to see the spots I missed a little (most noticeably, the bare patch on my middle finger). Now I know what to expect, I think I can manage this better next time around.

Polished by KPT Nightcrawler. Cold. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased it from here! I just started following KPT's Facebook page, but I expect restock info will be announced over there.

Polished by KPT Nightcrawler. Cold. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: OPI Grape... Set... Match

Hello!

OPI Grape... Set... Match. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This is OPI Grape... Set... Match.

OPI Grape... Set... Match. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Grape... Set... Match is a rather complex polish. The sheer purple base is packed with purple, blue, and pink shimmer. It is so full of shimmer that I thought it was a microglitter polish at first. I definitely see some duochrome shift in the bottle, but it does not translate that well to the nail -- maybe just a hint of purple to pink at the edges.

OPI Grape... Set... Match. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Swatches today started with a base coat of Seche Clear, three coats of Grape... Set... Match, and one coat of NYC In a New York Minute. The formula on this is a little thin, so it took three coats to get to the opacity shown. Otherwise, no issues with the polish.

OPI Grape... Set... Match. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Cult Nails Charlatan

Hello!

This Cult Nails Charlatan.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

So, this is a super fun layering polish. It is loaded with duochrome flecks, which cause a different effect depending on what you layer it over. Over dark polish, Charlatan creates a pink to purple to blue duochrome shimmer.

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I chose to show this over the Cult Nails Vicious swatch from last week. This is just one coat of Charlatan plus Seche Vite over the base purple of Vicious. It's so shimmery, it almost looks metallic to me.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash./

Charlatan completely transforms that creme polish into something else! I'm so excited about this because it's sort of like doubling your stash--what other looks can I create when I layer this over other polish?

Charlatan is a limited edition shade along with it's sisters in the Deceptive Collection. All of which are topcoats of this nature. I couldn't resist getting four of the five, so look for those swatches here in the future. In the meantime, check out Cult Nails here!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Butter London Knackered

Hello again!!

Butter London Knackered. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

Today I've got the second of the three Butter Londons in my stash to show you. This is Knackered.

Butter London Knackered over China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Knackered is a finicky, complex polish. In the bottle, it has a strong duochrome finish changing from a light, silvery blue to a subtle purple with gorgeous holographic particles swimming through it all. It is really sheer by itself, so the first time I attempted to swatch this, I tried to build it up. That didn't work out so well. Three coats in, and it was quite hideous. It was frosty, showed every imperfection on my nails, and I had brush strokes upon brush strokes. I next tried it over black, but that was equally as terrible. For a while, I was a bit stumped as to what to do with this baby. I set it aside disappointed--it's so pretty in the bottle! The other day I came across China Glaze's Secret Peri-wink-le in my stash. I swatched it for you here, and then had a revelation! Perhaps this was the underwear Knackered needed! The color seemed to match Knackered, so I tried a very careful coat of Knackered over the two coats plus topcoat of Secret Peri-wink-le from yesterday.

Butter London Knackered over China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Voila! This works! You get a hint of the duochrome shimmer, and the frostiness is kept to a minimum.

Butter London Knackered over China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

I tried to capture the color shift. It's best seen in the bottle. The left side picture shows how purple it can look, and the right side shows the blue. I love how well you can see the bend in color at the edge of the bottle.

Butter London Knackered over China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Once I found the right way to wear this, I fell in love. It's quite unique and lovely. 

Butter London Knackered over China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

 More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Zoya Adina

Hello again!!

Zoya Adina. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Today's beauty is the lovely Adina from the Reverie Collection!

Zoya Adina. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Zoya Adina was part of my first ever Zoya purchase. I was so excited for this one, and I'm very glad it's now in my little stash bin. It's a gorgeous purple with green to silver duochrome shimmer. The formula on this was great. It's thin and flows easily, but it's workable and doesn't pool. Swatches today are a base of Sally Hansen Nail Protix, three coats of Adina, and a topcoat of Orly Sec n' Dry. At two coats, I could still see some VNL, so three coats are a must for this one.

Zoya Adina. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This was also the polish that taught me to keep Seche Vite away from my Zoyas. The first time I wore this, I had terrible shrinkage; it looked like I had serious tipwear immediately. I haven't had great luck with SV and Zoya together since then, so I've sought alternatives to SV. That's why you see that I use Orly's Sec n' Dry when I wear Zoya polish, but my go-to topcoat is usually Seche Vite. Anyone else notice that SV doesn't play well with Zoya?

Zoya Adina. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

As I've said before: I bought my bottle from Zoya's website. They offer a lot of great deals, especially if you're plugged into their social networking, so like them on Facebook! They also offer deals to their existing customers (those who have an account set up at their website) on occasion. If you don't have an account and want one, you're welcome to use this link to make a new account. It's my "Share the Love" link, which if you do sign up by using it, I'll get points to use towards more deals on polish and, as a first time customer, you'll get a free bottle of polish when you order! Awesome! My link takes you to the seasonal collections page; you can create a new account by using the link at the top of that page that says "Create An Account". Once your account is set up, if you go to "My Account" then click "My Coupon Codes" you'll see the code for a free bottle of polish. I believe you have to order more items to use it, so it's not a total freebie.

Zoya Adina. Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

Zoya Month rolls along tomorrow with another purple polish!

Zoya Adina. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon!! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie

Hello again!

Today we have one more Rescue Beauty Lounge pretty that is no longer available. I am sorry once again because it is really spectacular. This is the last one, I promise! The upcoming two polishes are from the newest collection and are still available.



Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Here is Scrangie. Created in collaboration with RBL by the fabulous blogger, Scrangie, herself! This is a fantastic purple polish with a green to blue shifting shimmer. The formula on this was like that of Halcyon--thinner than I'm used to but that caused no issues. Dry time was good, and I think the thinner polish and thinner coats helps bring out the shimmer. Swatches today are one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardening base, three coats of Scrangie, one coat of Seche Vite.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie. Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie. Outdoors, natural light, no flash.
Check out that shimmer!

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I am very happy to have snagged this one right before it sold out--following RBL on Facebook keeps you in the loop! Scrangie was one of the first blogs I found when this little hobby started and is still one of my top go-to blogs to see swatches of new collections. It's like wearing a piece of beauty blog history on my tips! Haha!! --_^

If this ever comes out of retirement, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

More soon! ^_^